Elen
From Tolkien Gateway
elen (pl. eleni or eldi) means "star" in Quenya.
The Edain, however, equated elen and elda ("Elf"), so in some situations elen translates as "Elf".
Etymology
It is said traditionally to come from the exclamation ele! "behold" being the first word the first Elves spoke at Cuiviénen, when they saw the stars.
Other forms
- elenna "to a star": allative, also a name for Númenor.[1]
- elelli "stars": partitive plural[2]
- elenion "of stars": pl. genitive[3]
- elenillor "from stars": pl. ablative[4]
Seen in
With the meaning "Elf"
Inspiration
El means "deity" in some Semitic languages, and is a common element in many Hebrew names, as happens with Elvish names.
Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia suggests that the word El was the first sound emitted by Adam: While the first utterance of humans after birth is a cry of pain, Dante assumed that Adam could only have made an exclamation of joy, which at the same time was addressing his Creator.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, Cirion and Eorl
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 127
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 297, (dated August 1967), p. 385
- ↑ The Monsters and the Critics, Markirya